Sunny Days Make Happy Pups and Pretty Flowers

Don’t they look cozy?  I always thought Wally and LuLu looked nice with yellow.  The flowers behind them are Million Bells, a new favorite.  They bloom profusely and never need trimming or deadheading.  I’ll be planting more next year.



I tried my best to get some good landscape shots of the garden, but for one reason or another they didn’t turn out well.  I always love this view of the deck, though, where I’m surrounded by color and I can change it up every year depending upon what I plant in the pots.  I plant more every year and spread them around the garden.  We have quite a deer problem and I’ve grown weary of sacrificing herbaceous perennials to their appetites.  At least the annuals grow right back, but it’s still aggravating when the deer stroll right up to the deck and nip the blooms off the geraniums (which they especially love). 



Here you can see a little more of the new yellow on the house.  Rich is on the home stretch this week.  It doesn’t seem like it should take so long, but with two coats of primer and two coats of color it’s like painting the house four times.  And all with a brush and roller.  We can’t use a sprayer here because of the wind.  Honestly, if Rich doesn’t do another single chore this summer I’ll be okay with that.



Have yourself a beautiful day!  We’ll visit again soon, I hope.

Just Taking a Break

Hello, and happy Saturday to you!  I don’t seem to have much in the way of good photos this week, but I thought Wally and the coffee mugs looked cute together.  Just taking a break at the picnic table.




The butterflies always come around when the butterfly bush is in bloom.  I guess that’s why they call it a butterfly bush.



I’ll try to get some better photos this weekend.  Rich is still painting the house and Wally and LuLu are beginning to wonder if he’ll ever finish.  They don’t seem to think it’s enough to only go swimming twice a week, tsk tsk.    Enjoy your weekend!

Happy 4th of July!

Or just a regular old happy day to all my international friends.  Take care!

Share and Share Alike

This is LuLu’s stick.  It’s a big one and she was very proud of her find.  She had to carry it to each of us to show off her treasure, as she always does.  She brings a stick in and parades around with it before taking it back outside, because she knows “no sticks in the house”.  Of course, we always make a big fuss over how wonderful her stick is, and tell her “thank you for showing me your pretty stick”.  She brought this one inside to show me, and she was so cute lugging the big old thing around.



When she left it unattended for a moment Wally decided it was a pretty wonderful stick, too, and tried to claim it as his own.  As the #2 dog she sweetly asked if she could have it back, but Wally had to show that he was the guy in charge.  See his paw grip on the stick and his gentle hold on LuLu’s snout.  Trust me, it was as gentle as a kiss.

 
Benevolent pack leader that he is, he relinquished an end to LuLu, and a good time was had by all.



Thanks so much for dropping in.  We love your visits.  Enjoy your day!

Morning Puppies

Everyone has their morning routines, right?  Well, this is ours.  Whoever’s on the couch has a puppy on each side.  LuLu likes to cuddle and she usually brings a toy with her.



Wally will always have a sock.  Don’t even try to take it away from him.  He guards it with a pretend fierceness.  He’ll give it up when he knows morning puppy time is over.



By the way, I promised Rich I wouldn’t photograph him in his morning attire, but he’s pretty cute, too.

Have a happy weekend!

Coffee or Tea?

Just a little pretty from the garden.



Gee, look at all that yellow.  Guess I’ve got a thing for it this year.  Have a happy day!

Is it Dinner Time Yet?

Granted, it’s been a little busy around the Miller residence lately, but could we possibly forget to feed these guys?  They sure know when it’s dinner time, and LuLu knows exactly how cute we think this is.



With their evening meal they each get a dollop or two of canned food with their dry.  They think it’s just the most delicious treat.  Wally always waits right here while it’s being dished up.  He can barely contain himself.



We all wish you the best Saturday fuzzies a day can bring.  See you again soon!

I Love Color

When the flowers bloom my heart is happy.



I smile at the warmth of sunshine in a pot.



I’m charmed by the sweetness of a delicate pink.



A vibrant red wakes up my senses.



And, of course, everything looks better with a little gold.



Have yourself a wonderful day!

A Yellow Sneak Peek

It’s not happening real fast, but the house is getting painted.  Behind LuLu you can see the first coat of yellow on the south side of the house.  It will look better with a second coat.  The chartreuse Lady’s Mantle along the path is not a very complimentary color with the yellow, but it will be backed soon enough by a sizeable hydrangea in a pinkish blue.  Unfortunately the young hydrangea has taken a beating with Wally and LuLu crowding around the base of the ladder.  It lost a branch the other day, tsk, tsk.  Just when this bed was starting to look a little better, and I had hopes that my white Lily of the Nile would bloom again. . .



Rich is being as careful as possible with the garden.  He pulled the honeysuckle away from the house so he could paint behind it, and here he’s tying it back up again.  This photo shows the yellow with a second coat.  In some lights the color looks brighter, but this was an overcast day.  I like this shade and I feel a little less nervous about it now.  I think I’m going to love our yellow house.



My retired Rembrandt doesn’t seem to be in a hurry.  He’s taking his time and I’m not concerned.  He stops for lunch with me and has dinner on the table when I come home from work.  He also does a little housework, runs errands, cares for the lawn, washes the cars, and takes the dogs out for exercise.  What a guy!  Gee, Father’s Day is coming up.  He probably deserves a break, doesn’t he?

I hope this day finds you well and happy.  I’m looking forward to the upcoming weekend.  Nothing special, just a little extra time at my favorite place on earth – home.  See you soon!

Painting Begins

When I came home for lunch on Friday I found Rich on the ladder,  the house undergoing the change from earth tones to bright yellow and white.



And this is what was going on under the ladder.



Faithful Wally and LuLu, staying as close as possible.  We all had lunch on the deck and then it was back to our respective jobs.  It’s going to be a gardening and painting kind of weekend.  I hope I’ll have more progress to show you soon, but painting the eaves is a painstakingly slow process, and all will require two coats.  I’ll pop in again soon.  Enjoy your weekend!